Mistakes
by neon-zombie
Summary: It's been years since Zim has seen Dib. He left him long ago for reasons unknown. But what has become of his Dib? - This is a one-shot I wrote long ago! It's sort of AU, I suppose.


Zim wondered the empty streets of lower downtown. He shivered as a cool breeze blew against his revealed skin. Zim wore a pink top that cut short just above where a belly button should be. Baggy pink arm warmers on both skinny limbs. Pasty pink shorts with garters connecting them to pink and black stripped leg warmers. Clunky black boots covered his feet. He had long since acquired a new wig. It's longer than his well-known 'do and it covers one of his sky blue contact filled eyes.

"This fucking sucks!" he couldn't help but yell to no one. "How did I lose my way like this?" he never was good at finding his way through downtown. He usually had Gir with him but the little robot was off at a rave, dancing all cute like.

He kept walking. It was getting dark and very chili. Zim hugged himself hoping it would warm him up but he failed miserably.

As he walked, he stared at his feet, not really paying attention to the streets or anything, considering he couldn't understand them anyway. Glancing up for a moment, he noticed he was in front of a little coffee shop type café place. The kind you read poetry in. He kind of liked these places. They were quiet and people didn't look at him strangely like they did most other places.

He decided he would rather be in some place warm than outside, mindlessly wondering the streets, so he approached the stairs that lead down to the door. His heavy boots clunked down the cement steps. He pulled on the horizontal metal bar that was obviously the device used to open the heavy, wooden door.

The room he entered was not much brighter than outside. There was dim, purple lighting in most of the interior of the building. The only normal colored light was pointed to the center of a stage that sat on the far side of the room. A bar lined one side of the room, while circular booths lined the other wall. Various tables and chairs filled the room's center.  
On stage, a woman with short purple hair tied into pigtails sat on a stool. She wore a black turtle neck shirt with long sleeves. Black pants came down just past her knee. Meeting her pants, filling the rest of her leg, were socks- or maybe tights- that were black and dark purple striped. Her skin was as pale as the snow that was sure to fall in the next few months. She recited a rather grim poem. Something about her ex-boyfriend and him trying to kill her or something.

Zim walked over to the bar and ordered a nice tall cup of coffee with whipped cream on top. The barista filled a cup with the hot contents and whizzed out some of the puffy, fluffy cream onto the top of it. She handed him the cup and in return, Zim handed her exact change. $5.89. Damn. Sure, these places had great coffee but, sheesh it was expensive!

Zim got off the bar stool he had been waiting on and tossed $2.00 into the tip jar. He was kinder now... Plus he thought it was just what humans are supposed to do. He wondered over to one of the booths on the other side of the room and settled down in the seat. He sipped at his warm coffee, quite contently. The woman on stage just finished up her gruesome poem when Zim's coffee was cool enough to drink fully. She walked off stage, and a man came on from the other side of the stage. Just as gothic as the woman, he somehow though, seemed friendlier...

"Thank you, Devi. Now, we welcome one of our cherished regulars, Dib Membrane." snaps filled the thick air. Zim's skin started to crawl. Dib-Stink? He hadn't seen him since... Well, since they had become so close. But, it didn't work out so they just decided to leave each other be.

"... Dib..." he said under his breath as the snaps settled. On stage walked a very tall, skinny male. He wore the same, oh so famous hairdo, just a little longer around the sides. He replaced his huge round glasses for narrow, square ones. He had on a button up blue shirt that was wrinkled and un-tucked. Tight black pants clung to his chicken like legs. The basic Converse tennis shoe were worn on his feet.

"thank you, Mac." he said simply. His voice had matured much but you could still sense his same amazing voice he had as a kid. "this poem is dedicated to someone I lost long ago." Zim listened, full attention on Dib, but hid himself slightly so the man wouldn't see him.

'Loving you was like loving the wind.  
Here one moment,  
Gone the next.  
I should have known.  
In fact I did know.  
But I wouldn't listen.  
Your lush green skin pulled me in,  
Like it cast a spell over me.  
Magical.  
That's exactly how to describe you.  
The way you moved,  
Talked,  
Looked...  
... You were magical.  
Graceful.  
But,  
You ran from me,  
You left me broken.  
I was mad at you.  
I tried to hate you,  
But no matter how hard I tried,  
I couldn't.  
I will always love you,  
No matter how hard I try not to-'

Zim couldn't take it anymore. He knew he was talking about him. Zim had hurt Dib so bad... He stood up and started for the door.

'you were the greatest  
Thing to happen to me.  
Zim yo- ZIM!" he cut off of his poem. Zim jumped. Spotted. Damn. Everyone turned to see the green male trying to sneak out of the door. Gasps and whispers filled the air.

"that's Zim!" and "O my good. The Green Zim?" were some of the whispers among the people. Apparently, this hadn't been the first time Dib had read about him. Once Zim snapped out of his shock, he bolted out the door.

"Zim! Wait!" Dib said as he ran towards the smaller man. Dib jumped off stage and busted trough the door. "Ziiiim!"

Zim huffed and puffed as he ran down the empty streets. In the short distance he heard the loud rumble of thunder. "Shit! Not now! Please..." the calls of his name from Dib stayed close on his tail.

Sizzle.

Zim froze. The stinging of his green skin was loud enough to hear aloud. He cringed. Drop after drop, the small doses of Irken acid hit his flesh.

Down the street just a ways, Dib too felt the cool rain touch his skin; without the burning, of course. "oh crap... Zim..." he now booked it faster. Running as fast as his Converse could carry him.

Zim was in so much pain now that he could hardly concentrate on running. His pace slowed and he gave way to the sinister rain. He dropped to his knees and curled up, clutching his legs to his chest. He tried to cover as much of his skin as he could but that was already pointless because his clothes were dripping wet.

"Zim!" Dib hollered out. Tears were running down both of their faces, unnoticed due to the rain. Dib kneeled beside the alien. "C'mon Zim. Say something!" the only reply he got was a low moan.

"Dib!" another man approached with an umbrella spread out above his head. Tall and thin as well. His slightly wet cloths consisted of a button up white shirt, a black, wrinkled tie, tight black pants, and light blue tennis shoe. "What happened? Is he okay?"

"I-I don't know... Hurry, let's get him into the car and... Home... Fix..." Zim was losing consciousness. Slipping into a daze... It was becoming fuzzy... But he snapped out of it, refusing to give up so easily.

He stumbled to his feet. The other man had already left to go get the car. It was just Zim and Dib. Dib gasped. "Zim!" he helped him hold himself up. Dib held the umbrella over the two of them. "Zim are you okay?"

"yeah... I think..." he slumped up against the pale boys body, unstable. His head rested against his chest, moving up and down at a steadying pace.

"Zim... I'm sorry." Dib said as he wrapped his free arm around the rain-burned body of the alien, embracing him in a comforting hug.

"For what? I'm the one that should be sorry. I hurt you so bad Dib... I can't forgive myself."

"Zim… That's in the past. Forget it." He gave Zim a comforting squeeze.

"But Zim was so horrible to you." More tears streamed down his face. He was used to the burning at this point. "I'm so sorry Dib."

"C'mon Zim… Please, let's just forget it, okay? I'll always love you. I forgave you long ago."

"Really Dib?" He looked up and into Dib's eyes. "I love you too, Dib." He smiled and wrapped his arms, which up until now have been lifelessly hanging to his sides, around Dib's skinny body. "Dib?"

"Hm?" He replied sweetly.

"Can we be together again?"

"Well, Zim you see I-" Just then, a car pulled up and the man from before pulled up.

"Hey Kiddo! Is everything okay?" He said as he walked up. Zim questioned who this man was… He's seen him before… Somewhere…

"Yeah!" Dib said as he looked down at Zim; he had a puzzled look on his face that was directed to the familiar, but unknown man. "Oh, uh, Zim, this is Dwicky… You might remember him from middle school…" Ah, yes. Now he remembers. The counselor. Now it all makes sense. Dib moved on.

"Oh… hi." Is all Zim said sadly. He had lost Dib permanently. He felt really stupid for asking Dib to come back to him.

Dib knew what Zim was thinking. "Well, c'mon Zim. We'll give you a ride home." He said gesturing towards the car.

"No." the word felt so lifeless, so emotionless. "I'm fine." He said as he started to head in some unknown direction.

"Zim! Wait… Please…" Dib held a hand out, reaching for Zim who was fading into the distance.

"Dib, is he okay?" Dwicky said concerned.

Dib frowned and tears filled his eyes. "No…" He fell to the ground, face in hands. Dwicky pulled him into a hug as they knelt there together.

Zim turned around and watched Dwicky hold Dib. His Dib. He sighed. It was really over. Forever.


End file.
